


apocrypha

by stormtongue



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Canon Divergence - Thor: The Dark World, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Genderfluid Character, Implied Transphobia, Lady Loki, Prison
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-12
Updated: 2018-09-12
Packaged: 2019-07-11 15:15:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15974969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stormtongue/pseuds/stormtongue
Summary: Jane Foster is tired of being misunderstood, mistaken, misappropriated. Loki has nothing better to do.





	apocrypha

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [#nessies10kchallenge](https://www.tumblr.com/search/nessies10kchallenge) on tumblr.

She visited before even Thor did. Loki wasn’t sure whether that said more about him or her. 

 

The lights were growing tiresome on her eyes; they did not dim even at night. At least the bed was comfortable, Loki thought. She’d mostly been staving off the boredom that came with being imprisoned in Asgard’s dungeons through shapeshifting, though even that was growing old. Her only constant was anger. 

 

She heard the sharp footsteps of boots on the stone floor and sat up, interest overcoming her affected boredom. It was Jane, and thankfully, she was alone. The human scientist approached the force barrier separating Loki from the rest of the realm, looking not at its inhabitant, but at the barrier itself. A thin-fingered hand slowly reached out to run it up and down, testing its stability, its function, its creation. 

 

“Testing the cage? Making sure I won’t escape?” Loki asked, grabbing her attention.

 

“Um… no. I wanted to learn more about your technology,” Jane said, then looked over to Loki. Her eyebrows twitched together, but she quickly shrouded her surprise. 

 

_ Where’s Thor?  _ Loki wanted to ask. Maybe it would make Jane uncomfortable, more aware of the fact that she was unprotected in a prison full of supreme beings that could kill her with the blink of an eye. But Loki decided the thought of Thor was boring, right now. There was much more she could learn from this feeble creature without him getting in the way. 

 

“Don’t you think you could learn more about it from the inside?” she leered. 

 

Jane rolled her eyes. “I’m not falling for that.”

 

“What makes you think I’m trying to trick you? You barely know me.”

 

Loki knew she had struck something with that line. It was true, Jane and Loki hardly knew each other. Sure, she’d sort of tried to kill her, once, but that was in the past now. She had changed, and it was a shame Jane was so stuck on one simple mistake. Loki approached the barrier, standing tall and peering down at her. Through the eyes of the Destroyer, he’d seen so little in her, but now… now, free from the shadow of Thor, she wasn’t so bad.

 

Jane pressed her lips together. “I’ve heard plenty about you.”

 

“He doesn’t know me, either. Such a pity when one makes mistakes in the past and works so hard to atone for them, and nobody even  _ cares _ . It’s been hard, Jane. I’ve had enough time to think on it, already. I only fear that someday, all of the good work I’ve done will be for naught, and… well, maybe it’ll turn to anger as I rot in this place.” Loki wasn’t sure why she was giving so much away, but maybe it was because she had  a new set of ears to twist her words on. And Jane hadn’t fled, yet. Loki thought it brave of her.

 

Jane crossed her arms, but looked to actually be considering Loki’s words. “Is that a threat?” Her intonation certainly didn’t make it seem like she considered Loki too dangerous. It was more of a test, a prod to see how Loki would react; a zookeeper to a caged animal making sure they were not about to be attacked before setting foot inside the fray.

 

“No.” Loki smiled. “I’m not there, yet.” She sat down cross-legged so they were nearly at eye level with one another. “Surely Thor’s shown you our library? I think you could learn much from it. Well,” she baited, “if most of the more interesting tomes were not already down here with me.” It felt good to tease again. “Frigga saw to that. She pities me. I don’t want pity, though, I just want… someone to talk to. Something novel. I’ve read these all before,” she finished, and motioned to the stacks of books piled high around the edges of the sterile room.

 

Jane’s eyes slipped from their intent gaze on Loki; the longing in them was growing even stronger as she squinted to read the titles from afar. Loki stifled a smirk. She truly meant no harm towards Jane: she had meant what she said about  _ something novel.  _ Moreover, she was getting the feeling that there was much they’d misunderstood about each other, and much more they might have in common than she’d previously thought.

 

Loki let her face soften; it wasn’t too hard when looking at Jane. “I can transport you in here. I just can’t send anything out. You’ll need Frigga for that, but she’s probably keeping an eye on you, anyway. I bet she likes you.”

 

Jane looked back at Loki, eyes searching hers before trailing downwards over her changed body. She looked much the same, but perhaps Jane saw her as more trustworthy in this form, especially with her ameliorating words of assured protection. A foolish mistake, but not one Loki wouldn’t take advantage of. 

 

Jane must’ve decided she was safe enough, with a guard at the top of the stairs in shouting distance and Thor probably somewhere close by. “Alright. But only because I want to know what your teleportation feels like.”

 

Loki stood back up and snapped her fingers ostentatiously. Jane appeared next to her with little flourish, but looked thrilled nonetheless.

 

“Ah! Wow! Um… uh, that was different! Way different than the Bifrost was!”

 

Loki only raised her eyebrows, waiting for a  _ thanks _ . 

 

“Heh,” she laughed, “I never thought I’d be saying this to you, but thanks. Maybe you’re not so bad, after all.”

 

“No. Especially not when I tried to take over your Earth.”

 

“Thor said that wasn’t entirely up to you,” Jane replied with an apologizing glance, and strode over to run her eyes down the stacks of books. 

 

_ Hmm. _ Loki might have to thank Thor for something, after all. “Jane, I have to say, I’m impressed. I think I may have miscalculated you. You’re much more reasonable than your interactions with Thor would have me think.”

 

Jane picked up  _ Principles of Molecular Transmutation  _ and rubbed her thumbs over the battered leather cover absentmindedly. She sat down on the floor and bit her lip, clearly struggling with something. “Can I tell you something? I… it’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while now, but… I feel like I’m in too deep now, and I can’t really say no to any of it.”

 

“Of course. Like I said, I don’t get to listen enough, anymore.”

 

Jane smiled, opened her mouth, then closed it again, wondering how to reveal whatever was bothering her so much. Loki waited patiently, sitting down on her bed, and finally, she spit it out, speaking quickly. “I’m not myself around your brother. He brings out something in me that just… isn’t me. And I don’t think I really like it. I’m a scientist, Loki, not some… perfect, pretty, mindless love interest for the hero. And that’s how I feel around him. I feel like my personality gets so obscured by his, and what he does, and how inhuman he is. He’s perfect, and I can’t live up to that. I don’t want to; it’s just not who I am. And I’m really starting to resent it. I was never in any of this for  _ love _ , but then it was like… he fell in love with me, or at least he sure acted like it, and I felt roped into that, like I had no control over where what I saw was a strictly professional relationship was going. And now, the effects of that are literally inside my body, and I can’t get them out without him.” She finished it with a sigh, but looked relieved to have gotten it all off of her chest. 

 

Her words stirred something in Loki, and she got up off the bed to sit next to her on the floor. Maybe it was that Loki had felt the same way, sometimes, growing up with Thor. Maybe she was only interested in Jane  _ because _ of the fact that Thor was. Or maybe she was just moved by Jane’s honesty. This complicated what she’d done in the past because of Jane, and cleared it up so neatly, simultaneously. She reached out a hand to let Jane take it, an offer of a chance for both of them to be who they are in a universe that demands being who they’re not. 

 

Jane took it and squeezed slightly. “Thanks. You don’t know how much it means to me to be able to just... let things out, for once.”

 

Loki did know, actually, how much it meant; the Aether not attacking at her touch was an obvious sign. Nevertheless, she appreciated the semblance of trust between such a strange pair. “You’re welcome. And I’m not used to saying that, either.”

 

Jane laughed, looking back up at Loki. “Pardon me for saying this, but I would’ve never thought you’d understand. I guess I’m learning a lot about you. And I think… uh…” she looked down again rather awkwardly, motioning to Loki’s female form, “this helps, too. After high school, my whole life has just been men. Men, everywhere, and it gets so old. Maybe Asgard isn’t like this, but where I’m from, I’m somewhat of a rarity in my field, and I just… God, I hate it. I didn’t know you were…” she trailed off, not wanting to offend.

 

“I’m the same no matter my form. Sometimes, I feel more or less of an inclination, but believe me when I say I’m somewhat of a rarity here, too. At least in the dungeons I don’t have to pretend I’m not the antithesis of what a prince of Asgard should be.”

 

Jane moved her hand from Loki’s up to her shoulder, the apology clear enough in her eyes that she needn’t say it. Loki, too, was glad that she could admit this to Jane. Telling the truth meant more when it was mutually given.

 

“Can I hug you? I know that might be weird, but.. Darcy isn’t really the hugging type, and you probably aren’t either, and neither am I, usually. I just-I really appreciate being able to open up to you. It’s been a happy surprise.”

 

Loki surprised herself, too, by leaning over to give Jane what she’d asked for. The human felt much less frail in her own arms than she’d looked in Thor’s. Jane clutched at her back with surprising strength; she smelled of raspberries and honey obscuring a faint aroma of anxiety-induced sweat. Loki could relate to that, and moreover, she realized how much she’d missed the embrace of another woman, the lack of fear they could now share, the feel of her pressing up against her chest, the way her fingers slowly dragged across Loki’s loose shirt. It was nice. Even if it was merely platonic. Even if it was her brother’s sort-of-consort.

 

Jane broke away first, perhaps feeling somewhat guilty for betraying Thor even in this small way. When Loki looked back at her, though, she didn’t see guilt or regret in the brown eyes, but the same longing she’d seen earlier. She wondered if her own expression mirrored it.

 

Jane laughed quietly to split the tension. “This is weird but… I really think I like you a whole lot more than I like him. I mean, I feel like myself for the first time since I met him, basically. Even after he left the first time, when I tried to, you know, get back out there, it was never the same-” She was rambling again; Loki could see the pulse beating in her neck increasing in pace, and she felt bad. It was overwhelmingly clear how Thor’s influence had affected Jane, and it hurt to watch her fall back into it. 

 

“Shh. You don’t have to qualify that to me. We don’t have to only share in our issues with Thor. We can be outside of that. And be ourselves,” Loki said, softer than she normally was. She was rather shocked at how romantic she was being. 

 

Jane sighed, and leaned over to kiss her. It was quick, only a little more than a peck, but it  _ was _ more than a peck, and Jane’s hesitancy at pulling away was evident. She couldn’t look at Loki, but instead kept her eyes down on her own hands, now knitting together anxiously.

 

“I-I’m sorry. I, just… you’re right. Maybe I’m like, confused… conflating my… gratitude, I guess, at opening up, with… something more… I’m sorry,” Jane muttered, her clear voice warm and almost triumphant despite her words.

 

It was undeniably cute, even to Loki, who normally retched at such a thing. Maybe she could learn to be sincere, after all, given the right counterpart.

 

Loki laughed internally. That was a lie, she knew, but one that could be fun to play at, at least for a while. She realized the irony of all of this only occurring because she’d revealed one miniscule honesty behind a cloud of anger and angst and antagonism. Anyway, it wouldn’t last long. Jane was mortal, and in danger. It wouldn’t be  _ that _ embarrassing for Loki to be this until she couldn’t anymore.

 

She tipped Jane’s chin up and kissed her again, giving fully into the fantasy of being someone who could be in love.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I _do_ plan on continuing this someday, aka the next time I need pwp writing practice. But for now, I thought it would be more fun to get these characters into a place where a pwp is even possible  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


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